Chapter 82 Blood Moon News of the bloody conflict between the two cities of Kadesh, resulting in over ten thousand deaths, quickly reached the ancestors of mankind.
Upon hearing the news, Adam summoned his sons from the lineage belonging to the southwestern Kadesh to the council hall in the main city for questioning.
"Why did they fight?"
The centuries-old city lord knew nothing, and Adam was angered by his incompetence.
"How have you managed your descendants!" He ordered Seth to come in and take his brothers out, then suppressed his anger and returned to the backyard.
The weather grew hotter. Eve was sewing a breathable linen robe for him by the window, while a little girl with pigtails twisted hemp thread for her.
"Grandpa," the girl called sweetly. Adam didn't remember which generation of his granddaughter she was, but his expression softened.
He told the little girl to leave first, then picked up the bowl of cold water in front of Eve and drank it all in one gulp.
"Look at the good son you raised!" He slammed the bowl heavily on the stone table. "What is it now?" Eve asked casually, used to it. Half the year, more than three hundred days, Adam was angry with her. If they had to argue every time, she wouldn't have a peaceful day. She asked casually, her hands still busy at work.
The bone needles pierced her robe, making holes the size of broad beans. She had to tighten them little by little so the robe wouldn't look too unsightly. At times like this, she missed the small silver needles that had once been brought as tribute from the east.
Those were truly light and agile, leaving small holes, perfect for threading fine linen.
But Adam refused to allow these things into the city.
Because the priests said they were unclean, and using them would anger the gods.
He believed the priests wholeheartedly. They were humans created by God, yet they were also sinners who had brought misfortune upon their descendants. They lacked confidence in pleasing God.
A helpless smile played on her lips. Even as the progenitor, what good was it? She still lived in constant fear.
She silently sewed her robe, listening to Adam recount the events unfolding outside, focusing on his worthless descendants. When she heard about Kadesh, she could no longer contain herself.
"Why do they always have to kill each other like this?"
"Where could they have learned such a habit?" Adam said irritably, tossing the parchment scroll in front of Eve.
"This was given to me by Seth. The cities that have been fighting in recent years are all associated with him."
Eve looked at the parchment and immediately recognized the totem on it.
It was Cain.
Her pitiful yet hateful eldest son, expelled from the family register. Even though she hadn't heard from him in a long time, maternal instinct still drove her; every time she heard his name, her heart ached.
"He's truly my 'good' son! Even far away, he can still get his brothers' offspring to follow him!" Adam paced back and forth, his anxiety and barely concealed anger palpable. "They see the liveliness and prosperity there and constantly think of learning that stuff in their own city, not realizing that if he were truly good, why would the gods have banished him from the earth!"
"If he were truly worthless, how could he have deceived the children?" Eve couldn't help but retort.
"They are far more intelligent than you think, you old fool," she said, rolling her eyes. "Instead of complaining to me here, why don't you get me some small silver needles? I've had enough of these clumsy bone needles."
"Ha, I knew it!" Adam's face darkened at his wife's retort, and he sneered at Eve.
"It's just a needle, yet you can't forget it. I know you resent my avoidance of that city; you can't see the dark aura surrounding that ominous city, only its exquisite surface."
"Ignorant Eve, I think those unfilial children have all inherited your nature, which is why they've become increasingly unruly."
Eve stood up angrily, throwing the half-finished robe she was sewing at the man. "Sew it yourself, Adam!"
"How do you know they haven't inherited your foolishness and belligerence?" Her voice suddenly rose.
"My greatest sin wasn't having wisdom, but that God turned me from a superfluous rib into a woman! God! What a terrible fate made me your Eve!"
They immediately began to argue, neither willing to concede, and centuries had only given them more topics to blame.
God, hidden to the side, watched this human couple who could never get along, shook his head, slightly disappointed.
They remained unchanged, just as they had been when they first left Eden.
While Adam and Eve were arguing, in the distant east, the sun rose above the horizon, gradually brightening the sky. The first rays of light piercing the forest symbolized the arrival of daylight for humankind.
Edna withdrew her protective barrier, roused Baddeley, and urged him to return to Heaven as soon as possible.
The angel, still sleepy, didn't quite hear what she was saying at first.
'God is right,' Edna thought to herself. They shouldn't need sleep; Baddeley was clearly quite ill. So she repeated herself.
'Why? I don't want to!' Baddeley immediately rejected her suggestion.
'When I came down from Heaven, I met Teacher Meta, and he already knows that you defied God's will and lingered on Earth for so long,' Edna said seriously. She didn't mention that God had been there the previous night, but Baddeley couldn't see it, lest she alarm the angels. Instead, she used Metalont to frighten him.
The Grand Chancellor of Heaven, Wehrmacht, was indeed real; Badley hesitated noticeably, but still insisted on not returning.
"I have to save Astara."
"Heaven already knows about this, and is quite certain that Hell was behind it. This is beyond our control," Edna said anxiously, seeing his stubbornness.
"Edna," Badley said righteously, "if Enoch were in danger, would you return to Heaven?"
"That's different!" Edna said angrily.
"How is it different!" Exusiai communicated with her in her mind. "Only now do I truly understand what love is."
"I love Astara, I can't abandon her."
"I believe you might love her, because what you said is exactly the same as those angels caught yearning for mortal life," Edna said coldly. "But I don't understand why you suddenly fell in love with her, not long ago…"
"I admit I used to look down on humans," Badley interrupted her. "I know I was wrong. How are we supposed to be superior to humans?" he said. "Compared to gods, we are nothing."
'You know that too, so things have gotten serious now,' Edna hesitated, but Badley saw her expression as one of incomprehension.
"We are so insignificant, so insignificant that we can't even feel our own existence."
"I know…" Edna said reassuringly, and Badley, whose expression was inexplicably sad, laughed at her reaction. m.X520xs.Com
"No, you don't know, you are a Priest created by God himself. That honor alone is enough to make you stand out."
"But I'm different. I am a Virtuous Angel. Do you know how many angels there are in Heaven? And how many of those are Virtuous Angels…"
Edna, though puzzled, quieted down. She realized Badley was about to say something important.
"Perhaps even in ten thousand years, I won't see God again."
"This…"
"You don't need to comfort me. I'm already used to it. I'm not sad," Badley said.
"I am so insignificant…" he sighed. "Not only compared to God, but in the entirety of Heaven, I am utterly insignificant."
"But it's different on Earth."
"Richard meticulously prepares my attire every day, from the bedroom to the dining room; my life is filled with attention."
"It feels wonderful!" he exclaimed. "The longer I stay here, the more I love Earth."
"You don't truly love Earth," Edna said, looking at him. "You just enjoy the feeling of them revolving around you."
"Enjoying the feeling of crushing humans from above, you don't truly love them."
"I know you disagree," Badley said. "You're all the same—you, Prince Raziel, and all those Seraphim."
"You're always so high and mighty, in human terms, with an air of detached detachment."
"But who truly understands us angels in the lower ranks?"
"Why must we adhere to strict rules? Humans, demons, and fallen angels—they are all free." Badley quickly added, seeing the anger on Edna's face. "I don't deny that I've had such thoughts before, but it wasn't just me; many angels thought the same way, and I've changed now."
"You can't question my love for Astara; she changed me."
"I just hope the water in the sanctuary will clear your head," Edna said. "God was right, you're in danger."
"No, I can't leave. What does this have to do with God?"
The angels' conversation abruptly stopped. Seeing the humans had fed the horses well, their packs ready, and looking like they were about to depart, they didn't look at each other, their faces showing clear displeasure.
"Angels seem no different from us," Akliman said to Enoch, looking at the two angels who were clearly arguing.
"They argue too."
"It seems so," Enoch smiled, but then noticed Akliman staring intently at him and asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"
Akliman looked away, casually glancing at his much-shrunken horse caravan.
"You've found her. What happens next is none of your business. Take her and leave."
Enoch's smile faded. He wasn't doing this for Edna alone; he wanted to stop the war in Kadesh.
"You're a smart young man, and I won't flatter you," Acreman said, looking at him. "You're no match for Cain."
"All of us combined might not be able to defeat him."
"But…"
Acreman waved her hand to stop him. "I'm not telling you to ignore it,"
"It's just that enough people have died over the years. I don't like pointless sacrifices." She took a map from her bosom and unfolded it before him.
"Take Edna, head west then north, across the plains, across the Jordan River, and you'll reach Adam."
"Adam?" Enoch had been listening intently, then paused, repeating uncertainly.
"That's right. Now, only the progenitor of mankind can stop this war," Acreman nodded.
"How can the Ancestor of Man believe me?" He frowned. Even the lord of Hormar didn't believe him, and he didn't think he could actually see the Ancestor.
Akliman unfastened a dagger from her waist and handed it to him: "Show him this, and he'll believe you."
"This is Abel's dagger. I took it with me when I left home. My father recognizes it."
"You are?!"
"I am Akliman, Adam's eldest daughter," Akliman said calmly, meeting Enoch's surprised gaze.
"The one who harmed him was my brother, Cain."
"Tell him the truth, and he will believe you."
"Even if he believes, so what!" a voice said, so familiar it was as if the person had been speaking right next to her ear. Akliman was startled and pushed Enoch away.
"Take her away!" she cried anxiously, losing her usual composure. Enoch stumbled from the shove, instinctively looking in Edna's direction, but she wasn't there.
The angels had noticed the anomaly before the humans realized what was happening. They briefly reconciled and began searching for the source of the darkness.
The darkness surged forth fiercely, overwhelming everything. They stopped before the dense forest, hearing rustling sounds coming from within.
It moved incredibly fast, as if flying, closing in in an instant.
"Above!" Badley cried, looking up, a lightsaber appearing in her hand. A dark figure swept out from above with overwhelming force, carrying an aura of darkness and evil surpassing anything she had ever seen.
In other words, was it really a person?
She took a step back in surprise, her footsteps rustling as she stepped on a pile of withered leaves.
Cain, who had searched all night to finally find Akliman and her party, was in a foul mood. Hearing Akliman utter the word "go," he couldn't help but sneer.
"Go where? My dear sister, I've been looking for you for so long..."
Before he could finish speaking, he heard a strange noise and looked down, their eyes meeting.
"Edna!" someone cried out in the chaos, but Cain couldn't hear it.
In that fleeting glance, he forgot everything.
"Yawan..."
A gust of wind later, he abducted Edna.
Along with the pile of withered branches and leaves, nothing was left.
(You provide the author Danmu's [Hebrew Mythology]: The arduous journey of a world's creation.)